


Invisible Cities

by Butter_me__this



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Letters, Mentioned Shiro (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, She/Her and They/Them pronouns for Pidge, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butter_me__this/pseuds/Butter_me__this
Summary: Keith is used to moving around from state to state. He never stayed put for more than a couple of months but after moving back to texas he starts to receive letters from a strange addressed to "My Darling". Curiosity gets the best of him and he begins to read them and soon falls in love with the mysterious nomad and the words he writes on the scented paper.
Relationships: Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 15





	1. One

Moving was something that Keith was used to. He’s never had a “forever” home, the longest he’s ever stayed put was when the Shirogane family adopted him.

After the death of his adoptive parents, Keith went back to wandering around the states. He first moved away from Shiro to attend college in Illinois. Then he dropped out his sophomore year and wandered around. He worked as a barista in New York, then a cab driver in Pennsylvania, and so on. He worked enough to survive then moved on. He lived the life of a nomad. 

Now he was back in Texas. After avoiding the state like it was the plague he finally returned to where it all began. He rented a house not far from a small town named Arus. It was a small community, everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone. He wanted to live closer to the city; a place where no one remembered his name, where everyone was nobody. But the rent was too high in the city and since it was summertime and his last job as a substitute art teacher at a shitty public school in Oklahoma didn’t give him much he had no choice. 

The house was small, more like a shack than anything else. It was surrounded by red dirt and very little vegetation. It would have to do. 

The motorcycle, cherry, was the only consistent thing Keith has in his life. After his dad died legally it was handed down to him. Also legally, he had no say until he turned 18. It had stayed at an old garage until he turned 18 and got his license. The Shiroganes gave it to him along with some money to fix her up. She worked beautifully.

The house was empty except for a couple of draws, tables, and a chair or two. Keith had worked with less. The house was one floor with one bedroom a kitchen, living room, and a small garage. 

Going out to his rented truck Keith began to unload his things into the house. The smell of collected dust and desert wind surrounded him and filled his lungs only to leave him empty again. He missed the dessert. 

There’s not much he remembers from when he was little but he remembers being a toddler walking around with his bad on their piece of land. His dad would be planting tomatoes and peanuts while Keith played in the red dirt planting the seeds he took out of his sliced apple.

It was around 9 pm when he finished unpacking the little possessions he had. 

He would have to go into town soon and pick up food and look for a job and get more clothes, some furniture.

Falling onto the bed Keith let his legs hang off the edge as he looked up to the ceiling. The paint was chipped and he could hear the crickets singing outside his window. He listened to their singing as he tried not to think about anything. Being back in Texas after years of avoiding it felt wrong. Bittersweet. He didn't remember anything from his childhood but laying in that bed and feeling the cold night wind slip through the cracks in the wall made his stomach curl and twist.

He hopes he didn't make a mistake.

* * *

The next day he drove his truck into town on an empty stomach. Arus was a cute small town. The town consisted of almost all adults and little children. A handful of teenagers who hang around a corner with snacks and magazines. 

He went into the furniture store and walked out with a job and a new tv. Keith didn't care where he worked he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be there for more than a couple of months. When he was walking to his bike a girl ran out of the local post office. “Excuse me! You! New guy!” 

Keith turned around and saw a 4’9 girl with short dirty blond hair and large glasses running towards him. “You just moved in right? The abandoned shack?” Keith nodded but still didn't say anything. 

“Okay cool, we have a couple of letters for you.” She gestured for him to follow her into the post office and for some reason, he followed her. When he walked in a small bell ringed but none of the other three workers turned their heads. She went behind ht encounter and later returned with a box in her arms. “These cards keep coming, have been since before I started working here, it has no return address and it's addressed to ‘my darling’ at the shack’s address.” She opened the box and gingerly took out an envelope. Handing it over to Keith she took out a couple more. 

“Since we can't return it since it has no return address and legally we cannot open it because we don’t live there and none of us know who darling is we just let them pile. They come in like twice a month.”

Keith looked at the yellowish envelope and the neat blue handwriting. Looking back up to the teenager in front of him Keith rose an eyebrow. “I’m sorry,” he looked at her name tag, “Katie, but what does this have to do with me?” The teenager rolled her eyes. 

“The name’s Pidge, also I don't know, I thought it would not only be cool for you but also free us up some space.” Pidge put the envelopes back into the box and slid them across the counter towards Keith. “Legally since you live there now you are in charge of mail. In that box, there is at least a year's worth of letters so yeah.”

Keith slid the box back across the counter, “I’m sorry but I'm pretty sure that opening someone else’s mail is illegal and I’m not about to break the law because a teenager wants to get rid of some clutter.”

Pidge crossed her arms, “I’m not a teenager! I turned 20 in April.”

“Over glorified teenager, whatever.” 

“Look, are you going to take the box or not?”

Keith stared at the box in front of him. A year's worth of letter addressed to ‘My Darling’ with no return address. 

“Fine.”

Pidge smiled and slid the box across the counter. “Great! If any more letters come you can stop by and collect them here if you want.” Kieth took the box and left the post office without another word.

Throwing the box into the trunk Keith drove to the nearest diner to finally put some food in his stomach. 

* * *

The nearest dinner was named 'Sunshine breakfast, lunch, and dinner.' And as tacky as it looks on the outside with its bright yellow colors the inside smelled delicious. “Welcome to Sunshines! We’ll be with you in a second!” A lady with braids and hooped earrings called from where she was behind a counter putting food onto a tray. 

He stood at the entrance until the waitress came by, “Hi, table or booth?” 

“A booth.”

“Follow me!”

A menu was placed in front of him as he sat down. A mug of coffee was already being served before he could even take his jacket off. 

“Sorry, ma’am I didn’t-”

The waitress winked at him, “on the house, welcome to Arus.” 

Everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone.


	2. Two

The box waited patiently until Keith was done with his errands. It waited patiently as he set up the tv and it waited patiently as he ate dinner. 

Before going to bed Keith sat down on his living room floor, a cup of coffee next to him as he wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. Opening the box alone at night in his little shack felt so private. The sound of cardboard rubbing against cardboard loud in the quiet living room. 

He took out the letter Pidge had shown him and opened it with his blade. 

The paper smelled faintly of roses and had turned yellow but the writing was neat and blue. 

_My Darling,_

_The river beside me runs slow and quiet but my heart beats fast and loud. I just climbed the highest mountain and saw the most beautiful sunrise. The warm spring air surrounds me and reminds me of our time together at the creek. Do you remember? I caught a frog for you and chased you around while you screamed and cried. I didn't stop until my mama smacked the poor creature out of my hands._

_I laugh now looking back at the memories but I remember feeling so angry at you. I remember telling myself that I would never speak to you again. It only lasted three days before we ran back down to that creek to pick out flowers and to skip stones._

_How easy it was to forgive and forget when we’re five and the only cares in the world we have is of homework and the weekend._

_I wish you were here to witness such beauty._

_Although none can compare to you of course, (_ here the sender had drawn a little winking face, the detail making Keith feel fond)

_The river water tastes so sweet and is the perfect beverage for today's breakfast. I prepared myself a simple sandwich with some warm rice I had leftover from last night._

_I am sorry but I cannot stop talking about this view. I am sitting in a field of roses. Like the roses, your mom used to plant in her lawn. Or still does. How’s your mother? I hope she’s doing well, tell her I said hey_

_There are other lovers here. I guess this rose field is popular for breakfast dates. I’m the only single here. How sad._

_However, I can't bring myself to regret my decision. I may be alone but I am free._

_I wouldn’t trade that for the world. It may be selfish, but as much as I love my family, as much as I love you, I much rather be out there smelling the roses of Bulgaria than spend another day on that farm where my only friends were the sense of loneliness and failure._

_My journey is far from over. I’ll keep you in my thoughts, see you in Turkey._

_Love, Lance_

Keith closed the letter and brought it up to his nose to smell. Roses from Bulgaria. Putting the letter back in its envelope he set it on the sofa behind him and reached into the box to grab another letter. 

This letter was in a blue envelope and had bright red ink.

_My Darling,_

_Blue is my favorite color but at times like this, I hate it. I am currently on a train to Germany. I only stayed in Switzerland for a week. I don't know why but the busy streets and the taste of their chocolates made me dizzy beyond belief._ (Here the sender, Lance, drew a face with x’s for eyes and a wobbly mouth with a tongue sticking out) _Maybe I’m not used to smelling so many sweet and salty scents. Also, I felt extremely poor._

_I knew Switzerland was famous for its peace and wealth but holy shit does it make the US look like absolute shit. Mind the language. I hope you’re the only one reading this. If anyone were to find out I curse like an old sailer 8 months out at sea I would absolutely die._

_This letter will be short. I am starting to get motion sickness._

_That reminds me! I was rushing to the train when I remembered that I didn’t write you a single letter but thankfully a woman was sitting by the train drawing so I walked over and I asked her for a sheet of paper. After explaining to her what I was going to do she gave me a piece of paper and an envelope and guess what! The paper is blue! The envelope is blue! So I couldn't use the blue pen you gave me. I asked the man next to me for a pen but all they had was red. What kind of weirdo only has red pens?_

_I shouldn't judge. Remember how for a whole year the only thing I wore was suits._

_My journey is far from over. See you in Germany._

_Love, Lance_

Keith closed the letter and let his eyes rest from the monstrosity that was red ink on blue paper. Lance, was… different. One moment he wrote like he was in one of Shakespeare's plays and then the next he sounded like an excited penpal. The doodles were also endearing not that Keith would outwardly admit it. 

The box was small, but as he looked down at the letters he could tell there were at least more than a year's worth of letters in there. Taking a sip of his coffee he took out the next letter. This one felt heavier and there felt to be something round in it. Shaking it a bit he heard something rattle and desperately hoped it wasn't a dead bug.

He opened it away from his face and dumped it onto the floor ready to wack the creature with his shoe. Instead, he found coffee beans on the floor. They smelled bitter and as Keith picked up the letter and beans he was happy to find that the letter also smelled strongly of coffee. 

_My Darling,_

_I am officially fluent in Italian! If Elizabeth from 8th grade could see me now she’d be begging me to date her. Which reminds me! Remember Alex from high school? Remember how he was supposedly living in Venice, Italy with his lover? Guess what! It’s a lie!_

_While in Italy I asked around and no one even knows her. I searched her up on the record and her so-called lover and neither of them live here! Incredible! Then again they could have moved. I’m not about to play detective when I’m supposed to be chilling in Venice._ (Here Lance drew a small sun with sunglasses) 

_While I was wandering the beautiful sunny streets I came across a nice old lady who invited me to have a cup of coffee with her._

_She said I looked like her husband when he was younger. She even pulled out her small leather wallet from her purse and showed me._

_I think it is the most romantic thing in the world when people carry around pictures of their loved ones. It’s like they're saying that no matter what happens or how far away they are from one another their love is strong enough to get them through anything._

_I gently took the picture and was surprised to find that it did look like me. Technically it looked like my dad since that is who I look like. I only have my mother’s eyes. The man in the picture had long hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, a mustache, and a nicely pressed suit. If I were to grow out some hair I would look just like him. Of course, I love my smooth perfect skin too much to do that._

_The lady then told me to go get a coffee with her and how could I reject such a nice offer_

_Apparently, she owns the cafe place. She opened it with her husband in the early 19xx. He passed away recently. She gave me free coffee and showed me more pictures. I told her my age and she showed me a picture of her husband at my age. We were identical._

_I left the coffee shop with a fresh bag of roasted coffee beans and a heavy heart._

_I can’t begin to imagine what that must be like. To lose someone you’ve loved your whole life. Only pictures and memories are left behind. The only thing to fix their hearts being possessions instead of warm hugs and kisses._

_I was surprised she didn't cry. Not gonna lie I sure as hell dropped a couple of tears. It makes me think about how heartbroken my tia Azucena was when her husband died. I remember being 10 years old and not knowing why my hugs didn't make her feel better or why she didn't laugh at my jokes the same way she used to._

_Now looking at this sweet old lady crush beans and put a fresh pot of water on the stove I think I understand. Sometimes people need to go through heartbreak to heal. Sometimes you need to cry and cry and be broken so bad that not even the hugs of your family can help. Then one day you’ll wake up and you will have no more tears to shed. You will wake up with a heavy heart and a light head. You will rise and make coffee. You will smile at the smell of coffee and the sound of their favorite song playing on the radio._

_Sometimes people need to go through their pain alone._

_My journey is far from over bu_ _t with a heavy heart, I send you this coffee in hopes that you can taste my tears in it when you drink in the morning and know that even if I am sitting alone on a terrace in Italy working a nine to five job in a city I hardly know with no friends or family by my side, I still love you._

_Love, Lance_

Keith set the latter down on the floor and rolled the coffee beans around in his hand. Coffee all the way from Italy. Keith brought them up and smelled the strong bittersweet smell. How ironic. The letter and the coffee both sweet yet sour. Standing up he moved to the kitchen and grabbed a Ziplock bag to palace the coffee beans in. 

Back in the living room Keith grabbed the three letters and tied them together with one of his hairbands. Taking another sip of coffee he grabbed three more letters from the box and went to his room. 

It was around midnight when Keith finished reading about 6 more letters. This Lance guy had written from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Norway, Iceland, and Hungary. From these letters, he had gathered that he turned 28 years old and he celebrated his birthday in the snowy mountains of Norway. He read about how beautiful it felt to see snow in July and he read about how beautiful the Russian buildings were and how kind the people in Iceland were. 

He set the letters aside and fought the urge to go and get more letters. Keith fell asleep wondering who Lance could be and why he was sending so many letters. He wondered who Darling could be. How could lance keep writing every month without fail and not even know if Darling read them? 

It was clear that Lance was in love with whoever Darling was and if Keith was going to get involved he was going to do it right.

But first, he needed sleep. Then tomorrow he could read more letters while he worked on the small shack.

**Author's Note:**

> I am reading Invisible Cities for my World Lit class and I couldn't get this klance fic idea out of my head.  
> Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave kudos and comments!


End file.
